A Different Kind of Challenge

[emyerson]

Hi all.

Forgive me if this has been suggested in the past, or if I've posted in the wrong place.

 

I had an idea for a slightly different kind of nerdy challenge we could do here at NF. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Imagine if several people banded together into a virtual adventuring party. They'd set off onto a quest together. I envision there being some prewritten "modules". Here's an example:

 

The Crystal Pools - Queen Belova has tasked the party with retrieving an item of immense power from the Crystal Pools atop Winterborne Mountain.

• Part I: The party must travel to the foothills of the mountain and ascend to the peak. Each member must run, bike, or walk 5 miles on level ground, then another 3 miles on elevated ground.

• Part II: Along the way, the party encounters a band of orcs. After the battle, the party must heal. Each member must perform his combat routine*, after which they must each perform the healing routine*.

• Part III: Once at the Crystal Pools, the party must navigate to the island at the center of the pool to retrieve the item. Each member must perform 3 sets of 10 reps on a rowing machine, and swim 15 laps. Retrieving the item requires each member to perform one Maximum Strength Feat*

• Part IV: The party, low on rations, must return to the Queen with the item. Each member must make one Diet Feat*

 

You only move on to the next part after the entire party has met the goal. If that happens in one day, great. If it takes a week, also great. If it takes a month, party members can encourage the holdouts to get it in gear.

 

* Healing Routines, Combat Routines, Maximum Strength Feats, etc:
These routines would be different for each person. Each party member defines for him or herself what these look like. For instance, I'm a fencer, so my combat routine might be to win at least one fencing bout (or maybe to win one 5-0). The Healing Routine could be a non-physical activity or goal. I enjoy painting, so my healing routine might be something like "Post one new painting online that I'm really proud of". The Maximum Strength Feat should be something that pushes your workout limits. For me, it could be defined as "3 sets of squats, 16 reps each, 200 lbs). Another party member might define the Combat Routine as three karate classes in a week, or a new Free Running routine, or 30 minutes on the heavy bag. The point is, these categories are up to the party members to define for themselves.

 

I could see members of the NF community writing adventure modules for other parties to run through. You could even have an ad-hoc adventure, without a module, where the group takes turns GMing - one week, one member sets the group goal (and the narrative); the next week, another member takes over the story and decides the success factors, and so on.

 

What are your thoughts?

[kathrynl]

This is a cool idea! I'd be down to try it. It would feel a lot more like real life DnD than a solo challenge since it's with a group

[Oramac]

I like it!  I never played the table-top games, but this still reminds me a lot of a 5 man dungeon quest in WoW as well.  The different aspects (combat, healing, etc.) are a nice deviation too.  

[Dizz]

I'm down with that

[Mr_Willes]

Think it's a great idea!

 

This is such an awesome site. And actually this is my first post. I hope this idea will develop in something nice. I'm off now crawling the site and forums because it's a little intimidating large and i haven't just found my way around yet...

 

Just found the idea great and wanted to let you know!

[Toxophilite]

Yes, this is an awesome idea! I wouldn't be surprised if people are doing elements of this already but it would be great to organise on a larger scale.

 

There's a 'NerdFitness Suggestions' section http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/forum/16-nerdfitness-suggestions/ maybe stick something in there.

[emyerson]

Yes, this is an awesome idea! I wouldn't be surprised if people are doing elements of this already but it would be great to organise on a larger scale.

 

There's a 'NerdFitness Suggestions' section http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/forum/16-nerdfitness-suggestions/ maybe stick something in there.

Oh cool. I'll post over there. Thanks!

 

EDIT: OK, I added this post. Thanks for your support.

[ShadowLion]

This sounds like a lot of fun. There are various groups that do some mini challenges within the larger six-week challenge framework, some of which continue from challenge to challenge. I could see your idea fitting in either one of two places, depending on your goals for the group.

 

Accountability groups run for the length of a challenge and can be anything from a group of nerds who share a common interest (fitness related, or not) cheering each other on, to a story-based group (with anything from a structured story written by one individual to one written by the group as they go along) with or without mini-challenges along the way. The groups often pick up their theme again the next challenge.

 

Current Challenge Accountability forum

 

PVPs can run on a more flexible schedule, and while they are often competitive in nature (player vs. player, or player vs. self), they can be structured to be more supportive of group effort and be set as player/group/team vs. environment/enemy.  You can see examples of various types in the PVP forum. There are five pages of these threads, so here are a few examples: Warhammer PVP, Pushup Quidditch Cup, Heroes vs. Villains.

 

Really interested to see where this goes!

[emyerson]

So, for anyone looking to get in on this fun, I've started a thread:

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/60528-the-assault-on-brightwater/